Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti visited the LA Cyber Lab on Thursday. Mayorkas made it clear he thought more cities and businesses need to follow LA’s example of fighting cybercrime before it happens.
“The federal government cannot do this alone. DHS is committed to strengthening its partnerships with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and private sector entities across the country. The LA Cyber Lab is a tremendous example of how public-private partnerships can make us all safer,” said Mayorkas.
Established by the Mayor’s Office in 2017, the LA Cyber Lab’s mission is to bring together public and private sector organizations to better protect communities against malicious cyber actors. Mayorkas encouraged other cities to follow suit and embrace the private sector.
Just as important as providing resources to victims is offering cities advice on resilience should they become the victims of a cyber or ransomware attack.
“How quickly can you bounce back, get your systems in place and get your defenses up and running?” are the questions cities need to be asking themselves, according to Mayorkas.
Mayorkas says the allocation this year of $77 million in federal funds for hardening cities’ cyber infrastructure is just a first step to deal with what will be an ongoing threat.
In 2018, DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) awarded the LA Cyber Lab a $3 million grant to provide training on cyber hygiene best practices and increase cybersecurity awareness across the greater LA business community and local government organizations.